Russellville High School's Miguel Nava cries foul during Friday night's 6A state soccer championship at the University of
Arkansas' Razorback Field. RHS beat Greenwood 1-0 in overtime for the Cyclones' second state title since 2012. (THE COURIER / Travis Simpson)

That’s what Russellville Cyclones head coach Jared Fuller didn’t want going into the Cyclones 1-0 victory over the Greenwood Bulldogs for the Class 6A state championship.

But that’s exactly what pushed the game into overtime and exactly what almost cost Russellville (17-10) the game.

The Cyclones had nine shots on goal, against Greenwood’s lone shot, which sailed high over the goal with 42 seconds left in regulation, but only one went through. That’s all it took.

Fuller said that’s exactly what defeated them when Russellville faced Greenwood (9-8) in the regular season. If they could avoid missed chances, the coach said, they could leave Razorback Field with a victory.

As it turned out, trust is what brought the Cyclones the victory. With 3:35 left in the first overtime, Jose Crisostomo took the ball to the goal, saw he didn’t have the angle and fired to Landon Short, who knocked it to the back of the net.

“I talked to them about believing in each other before the first overtime,” Fuller said. “I told them to keep crashing the net, keep it low and fast and it would pay off.”

It did.

Short was awarded the Class 6A state tournament MVP for his game-winning shot after the game, but Fuller said he could have given it to anyone on the team.

Short said he saw the defense part moments before his kick, then he saw his moment.

“I thought, it’s time to finish this game,” Short said. “We had plenty of chances before this, and they had an amazing keeper, but eventually we got one through.”

The Cyclones earned their second state championship in five years — the first in 2012) — and made their fourth appearance in the championship bout since 2010. Fuller said it never gets old.

“Not when you have games like that,” he said. “My blood pressure is still through the roof.”

Prior to the game, Russellville senior captain Miguel Nava knew this would be his final opportunity to play soccer for the Cyclones. He hoped he left his teammates with a valuable lesson: “Win or lose, we are a family.”

Russellville emptied the water cooler over Fuller, after celebrating with the Cyclones’ student section which made the two-hour drive from Russellville High School – including the Cyclones baseball team, which will play in their own title game 3 p.m. today.

The Cyclone Nation was in attendance, as Fuller had hoped they would be — proving the Russellville family extends far beyond the soccer field.